For high-density data computing, telecommunications and storage needs, computer system equipment is typically installed in open or closed equipment racks, or electronics racks, located in data centers, also known as “server farms”, where the facility environment can be controlled to maintain a proper operating temperature, relative humidity range, and particulate cleanliness.
Data centers often consume a large amount of electricity and generate significant waste heat. The generated waste heat must be dissipated from the data center in order to meet operational requirements of the electronic components within the data center. Typically, electronic components are maintained in a safe operating temperature range by circulating cooled air through the equipment to cool the electronics racks, or for instance, by more directly cooling selected electronic components with a heat transfer fluid, or by a combination thereof. The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Cooling Engineers (ASHRAE) develops and publishes data center cooling standards which provide industry consensus best practices for data center cooling.
One approach to cooling the air or heat transfer fluid used to cool a data center, or more particularly, the equipment within the data center, is by means of a refrigeration chiller to chill air, water, or other heat transfer fluid, which is then used to cool the data center equipment. Other methods of cooling have been tried, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.
Operational reliability is of utmost importance in the operation of a data center. Data center outages are expensive, and an extended outage can be devastating to a data center operator, both in terms of expense and business reputation. Thus, redundant units and/or back-up units, such as back-up power supplies, data communication connections, and environment control and security apparatuses are also typically provided as part of the data center, or facility management system associated with the data center.
In the realm of data center cooling and powering, commercial advantage would be obtained by providing systems to cool and power a data center which are effective in all climates, environmentally beneficial, and/or more energy efficient than existing approaches.